Micro-Start XP-10 jump starter - Tested, it works great

[umbertob]

I purchased a Micro-Start XP10 jump starter and personal power supply (about $125/150 online, available from several retailers and on eBay) based on the recommendation of a nearby shop.

I didn't realize how tiny this device was until UPS delivered it, so I was bit skeptical about its capacity to start my LR4's big V8 if and when I need it to. I decided to test it in the garage this morning, taking a video of my "mini-review" in the process, and the little box delivered in spades. I thought this may be a useful (and compact) addition to the tool chest of some of us, particularly owners venturing well off the beaten path, away from cell phone reception, AAA and donor vehicles to help out if our battery dies... The marketing material says this device should start a dead V8 engine several dozen times before needing a recharge and, based on my brief experience, I believe that claim. That's pretty impressive from a virtually pocket sized device.

As always, apologies about my accent and mispronunciations...

Micro-Start XP10 Test on Land Rover LR4 - YouTube

 

[LOMartin]

Been taking of one of these when I first brought my LR home and woke up the next morning to a dead battery. Thanks for putting this review together.

 

[eljefe]

thats great. i purchased a noco genius boost device and it did not work very well. tested on my 2002 bmw and it would not crank it. I might purchase this one.

 

[NASdiesel]

Can't someone just hack the macbook to do this? Sounds flip, but I carry the cobra jump pack in the winter, it gets a little tiresome having a bunch of devices I need to bring inside every night in my laptop bag.

Rant over.

 

[danrhiggins]

This is great, Umberto! It's smaller than the heavy duty cables I carry everywhere and have only used once - to help someone else. I don't believe it will charge a Mac though as the Macs have a proprietary charger plug that they don't let people copy. Maybe the new USB 3c on the new MacBook will work. But that's certainly off topic. The fact that it will charge other stuff like my inReach GPS, GoPro camera, and of course my iPad and iPhone means I won't need to burden the LR4 battery with that when I'm out camping. Cool.

 

[roverman]

I think he wanted to jump the car with the Mac? A little short on amps...
Cool product, thanks for the video!

 

[danrhiggins]

I think he wanted to jump the car with the Mac? A little short on amps...
Cool product, thanks for the video!

I agree. I have never looked into it but I would be very surprised if the USB ports on a Mac had enough amps. Or on any PC for that matter.

 

[RBA1]

I keep one in my trunk and one day while gassing up at a station a Harley motorbike in the adjacent stall couldn't restart. The badass owner asked whether I had jumper cables to which I replied, "I have something better". I whipped out the unit and plugged it to his battery. The bike started right up and the battery is still on full.

 

[Surfrider77]

I agree. I have never looked into it but I would be very surprised if the USB ports on a Mac had enough amps. Or on any PC for that matter.

A couple significant problems with that! First off, USB is only 5V. Secondly, USB peripherals usually only can draw up to 2 amps. Neither is remotely close to jump starting a vehicle.

You need 12V and a few hundred amps (CCA) to start your average car.

 

[cperez]

Impressive device. Thanks for the review which answered my questions including how long it might hold a charge in between uses (realizing that there are many factors that affect this).